Lecture | Kurt Bednar: Paperwar between the US and Austria-Hungary, 1917 - 1918

On December 7, 1917 the United States declared war on Austria-Hungary. It is to discuss what caused this drastic step. In any case, there were hardly any direct fights between American and Austrian soldiers (Yes, an Austrian mortar hit Hemingway in Northern Italy). It was more in the diplomatic field that the struggle lingered on. The recognition of an independent Czechoslovakia helped to disintegrate the old monarchy. The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 with its non-transparent procedures and often one-sided propositions finished it off. In-depth research in Vienna and in the US (Library of Congress, National Archives, libraries at top universities - Columbia, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Yale) supports that conflict among the nationalities was encouraged from outside. At the end, a rather bizarre construction named Mid-European Union was thought to fill the vacuum in Central and Eastern Europe. The US and her fresh troops entering at a late stage finally decided the Great War. Lacking international experience and knowledge of European and global affairs the US did a lot to gather data und prepare for the event in Paris. All good will was no match to the old intrigues of Europe.